Anchor (I'm Sinking Without You)
by annavale23
Summary: Skye changed on that fateful day in the catacombs. She became something else, her true self. But now Skye's alone again, she belongs nowhere, not even with the only family she's ever known. So maybe it's time to find the only guy who can help her: a certain Grant Ward. (Accompanies my other fic 'Anchor' rather loosely, it's not required to read to understand) [On Temporary Hiatus]
1. Chapter 1: Finding A Soultion

**Hey guys! This chapter is short, but it's more like an introductory chapter. It's an accompany fan fic to my other one, _Anchor_. Both are set after 2X10, but _Anchor _is about what happened to Grant and Agent 33, while this is what happened to Skye at the same time. It'll be updated with chapters that lace through _Anchor, _so for the full story, I'd read that one first, or after this.**

**This chapter happens before Chapter Four in _Anchor._****_(I'll be going into the events immediately after 2x10 as flashbacks later on)._**

**Anyway, enjoy, and please review, follow and favourite!**

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**1 What Skye Became**

Fractures.

They shatter through the earth, breaking up the ground from underneath us, chucking us around. Bruising us. Hurting us. Destroying us.

I'm a catalyst now. A pillar of earthquakes. After that night, in the catacombs. When I touched the Diviner. When I found out who I really became.

* * *

I sip at my coffee, looking out of the window of my new van. Because yes, I have a van again. The rain falls lightly against the windscreen as I wrap my fingers around the takeout cup of coffee I got from Starbucks. Open against the wheel is a map. I push the coffee cup onto the dashboard and pick up my pen. I start to draw stars around cities. They would look random to anyone but me. Because all these cities mean something to me, so I'm avoiding them like the black plague. Maybe Coulson or May could figure it out, if they saw my map, but there's no way they'll ever see it. Because they're looking for someone called Skye. A nameless orphan girl, who's now a danger. An Inhuman.

Slowly, I send a small wave of my power into the coffee cup, sending small tidal waves crashing into the side of the cup.

Because I'm no longer Skye the Hacktivist. I'm not even Skye the Mini-May Bot. I'm Skye who creates earthquakes. The governor of the earth.

I ran from SHIELD, the only family I had. Because they couldn't trust me. So I dropped the name Skye and became simply the nameless shadow I had always been, before SHIELD. It hurt to return to the lonely life. SHIELD had taught me what it meant to be part of a family. But I couldn't stay somewhere where I was feared and distrusted. Where my every move was watched. So, with the help of Fitz, I ran.

_Fitz_. Poor damaged Fitz. That's how everyone thought of him as. Poor. Damaged. _Alone_.

So it was logical that he was the only one who listened to me. Who crafted me a plan to escape on. He worked distractions and stole me money from Coulson. Then he let me out of the base, and told me to run. To run far, where SHIELD would never find me. Not until I knew who I was again. Not until I knew what I had become.

That was 10 days ago. Upon leaving the base, I hijacked a car and drove into the city. From there, I managed to buy this very van I'm sitting in. Then I drove to the next city, stole more cash and drove further.

Did I have a plan? Surprisingly, yes. All I had to do was get used to my powers, like how I got used to hacking. Simple, huh?

_Not_ simple. Controlling my quaking abilities was like trying to control a Tsunami. _Impossible._ Even now, all I can do is my coffee trick. But even that was more progress than I ever made under SHIELD. I think it's because I can relax more alone, in a van. Something about vehicles just makes me calm, and serene.

But that wasn't just my plan. That would have just been silly. The other half to my plan was to find the only person I wanted to see.

Grant Ward.

Yeah, I know. Last time I saw him I put four bullets in him. But somehow I know he'll be alive. He _has _to be. Because Grant's the only one who can help me.

I'm not saying I return his feelings. (Which I think are probably dead by now. You know, because _I shot him. _But in my defense, he taught me never to turn my back on my enemy, so it's kind of his fault for forgetting his own lessons). But Grant helps me focus. And to control what I became, I'm going to need his help. And I can't return his feelings. Because as I see it, he's like a lost stray seeking _anyone _to help him. To lead him. And I'm not comfortable with that.

I have an idea how to find him as well. Yes, I've been working hard. Grant's an enigma, but if I'm right, I can find him. Because Grant Ward is easy to spot on cameras. Those cheekbones and all.

It helps that I already found him. I ran a search on a library computer, working quickly in the limited time I had to use it, and managed to track him to a city. So all I have to do now is drive out and somehow convince him to help me. Otherwise, I have no idea what I'm going to do.

Grant may not be the best option, but he's looking like my _only _option. Unless I want to return to being SHIELD's lab rat. Or, you know, track down Raina or my dad. But since the last time I saw Raina, she was looking… not herself, let's just say, and my dad beat Coulson into the floor last time I saw him. So both of them options are probably not the wisest. Even though Cal would have answers for me, but I can't risk it. Grant's my best option.

_He has to be._ I refuse to let myself think otherwise. I don't need Grant, per se, but I need _someone. _Even if he tells me he hates me. At least I would have tried everything.

"Alright, Skye." I mutter to myself, tossing the now empty coffee cup and the map onto the seat next to me. Slowly, I ease into drive, pulling out of the alley way and into traffic. "First stop, Washington D.C."


	2. Chapter 2: Hating The World

**I am so sorry about the delay since the first update! Life got in the way, as it does. This is a really short chapter, but I wanted to reassure you guys that this fic is still being written. Although I will warn you that the next update might be a while...**

**Thanks to the guest Lucia for her reviews, which reminded me that I needed to update this fic.**

**Enjoy, and please review!**

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"That'll be two bucks, miss." The man behind the counter tells me in a gruff voice. I chuck the amount over at him and pick up my coffee to go, hurrying from the shop. Because yes: even when I'm on the run, I still need my coffee.

Back in my van, I glance at my map again. I'm close to DC now, but a part of me wonders whether I'll even be able to catch Ward when I reach the city. He's still a specialist after all, so he's not going to be easy to find. But I have faith that I'll be able to spot him. I mean, how many guys have hose cheekbones?

I have no idea what I'm even going to _say_ to him once I find him. What, I turned into some kind of freak, and now SHIELD wants to contain me, so can you help me? I doubt that will go down very well, especially since the last time I saw him I put four bullets in him. But I'm going to rely on the part of him that might want to help me, to honour the past. _Our _past.

I know that Ward is my only hope. Other than him, I have no-one else who will be willing to help me. From here, if he denies me, I'll have nowhere to turn to. Cal, my father, is too crazy for me to even consider finding him even if he holds some answers I seek. And Raina, who changed with me… She's no longer an option either. Although SHIELD means well, I can't trust myself with them. With Simmons and her 'help', Coulson and his confinement, the others with their distrusting looks… I can't go back to that.

_I survived on my own once. I can sure as hell do it again._ I tell myself determinedly. I've never needed anyone before, so why should that change now?

.

I sip at the steaming drink, deciding to finish my drink before driving off. While I drink, I open up the laptop I recently… acquired (yeah, you got me, I stole it) and start running my usual algorithms: trying to find any traces that might indicate that SHIELD is onto me. As usual though, I find nothing, because even if SHIELD is following me, why would they leave any traces for a known hacker to find?

I start driving again, keeping to the speed limits carefully. I don't exactly want to be pulled over for speeding, especially since I'm technically a so called SHIELD terrorist. As I drive, I wonder what Ward's doing in DC. Is he alone? The search I used to find him only gave me a brief glimpse of him on a security camera. And there's no guarantee that he'll even be there anymore, but if I stop holding onto that hope, I'll just collapse in on myself, not unlike what happens to everything around me after I release one of my earthquakes.

_I hate my father._

I accelerate slightly, overtaking the nearest car.

_I hate HYDRA._

I check my gas levels, and realise that I'm going have to stop at a gas station soon, or I'll run out of gas to keep driving.

_I hate this ability._

My hands tighten on the steering wheel as I feel the familiar surge of bees within me, as my stupid, _stupid_ power makes itself known as I think about it.

_I hate it all!_

My van shakes slightly, and I force myself to calm down. I can't afford to unleash an earthquake _here_, on the road. _Keep calm, Skye. Just keep calm. _

_But most of all, I hate SHIELD. My so called family, the only people that really cared about me, were scared about me. So I hate them, because they made me feel like I belonged… and then they ripped that out from underneath me._


	3. Chapter 3: Run Like No-One Can Catch You

**Another short update for you all! Thank you for all the follows, favourites and reviews so far. You guys are the best!**

**Enjoy, and please review at the end!**

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**CHAPTER THREE: Run Like No-One Can Catch You**

"_Skye, you'll have to run." Fitz's voice is urgent. I stare at him, uncomprehendingly. _

"_Run where, Fitz?" I grab at his arms, feeling the rough material of his cardigan against my fingers. _

"_I don't know. But here, SHIELD won't understand you. It's only the fake results keeping you safe right now!" Fitz's panicked eyes search mine. "You need to run."_

"_How?" Despair fills me. "Fitz, SHIELD is my home. Even though I'm different, even though I'm changed, they won't reject me."_

I refuse to believe that they will. And that's how they get me.

* * *

"_It's for you, Skye, not us." Coulson tries to plead with me as I sit down in the cage. In my new home. I'm like an animal now, locked up in case I hurt anyone._

"_I understand, A.C. I'm a danger." I try to smile. _I get it. I'm a danger. But what about the others? What happens if I'm threatened by them? Who will you side with then? Me? Or the 'normal' people?

"_So you understand?" He says uncertainly. "Skye, I want to protect you."_

I know the answer. The 'normal' people. Because I'm not human anymore.

"_I know." I nod, keeping my eyes away from Coulson's. So he can't see that I'm completely lying about understanding. _

_When Coulson's gone, I barely notice the room shaking through my tears._

* * *

Whose fault was it that I changed?

_Coulson. He wanted to find that temple; I never wanted any of it._

Who did this to me?

_Garrett and Quinn, for shooting me. Coulson, for starting to find that temple. Ward, for taking me to that temple. My father, for telling me to go there. Raina, for tempting me inside. _

I ignore the fact that none of these issues would have made any difference to me if I hadn't gone into that temple.

* * *

"_Fitz, I think I need to go." I say to the engineer. Fitz nods gravely. _

"_Here, SHIELD, us, it'll do you no good. You have to find your own way in this world, Skye, find out how to be you with powers and then come back." He agrees. _

"_I know." I nod as well, even as my world breaks. SHIELD is my home. SHIELD is my life. But SHIELD is also now my enemy. SHIELD doesn't care about me, Skye the hacker, anymore. It only cares about Skye the Inhuman, a monster who needs to be controlled at all costs. _

A monster. Maybe I should find a monster in person just like me. A person who might help me. Who might want to look at me as Skye, instead of the Inhuman powered person the stupid Kree temple created.

"_Where will you go?" He asks me, concern filling his eyes. My lips turn up into a slight sad smile. Fitz is a good man, a good friend. I'll miss him when I go, and I wonder who will even care about him enough to talk to him anymore once I leave. But it's my only choice. I can't take him with me._

"_I'll go wherever the tide takes me, Fitz." _

Like I always had. I would move from wherever I wasn't wanted, until I ended up cold, tired and alone.

_Just like always._

* * *

_Once upon a time, a man called Grant Ward told me that I and he weren't all that different. Phil Coulson was my John Garrett. In another life, I could have turned out like Ward, and he could have been me. _

_I had called him a liar, a delusional fool. _

_He had told me that someday I would understand. _

_I knew something now. He and I…. we weren't that different. He was a survivor. _

_And now, so was I._


	4. Chapter 4: When All Your Hope Is Gone

**Hey guys, next chapter! This is Skye's perspective on chapter four of Anchor. **

**This fic will probably jump all over the place from now on as Anchor gets further into it's plot. **

**Thank you all for the follows, favourites and reviews so far. You guys are all awesome!**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please leave me a review at the end, telling me what you thought!**

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**CHAPTER FOUR: When Your Hope Is All Gone...**

**_Skye_**

I follow them, knowing for well that they know I'm here. Both Agent 33 and Ward were SHIELD agents after all, and they're both much, much more skilled than me.

That suspicion is confirmed when they step down into an alley. I quickly follow them: it's better for everyone if we're not in broad sight. I try not to bring attention to the gun tucked under my shirt, but the bulge is hardly not noticeable. I just hope that Ward doesn't see it as a threat.

Ward and Agent 33 stop mid way down the alley, and then they turn around. I take a deep breath, trying to smooth my nerves.

Ward's eyes are not kind. They are cold, and my hope starts to flicker. Why would Ward want to help me, the woman who shot him four times? Why would Ward want to help me, after I've called him unspeakable things?

_Monster._

_Serial Killer._

_I will never, ever give you what you want._

"What do you want?" Agent 33 practically snarls at me, and I take a small step back. Her anger is scary, especially coming from May's face. I don't like it: seeing May, even though it's not May, makes me remember the looks she gave me before I left. A look of carefully controlled fear, and the look of resignation: because she was thinking of putting me down.

"Relax, Agent 33." I attempt to smile, but I'm not sure if it looks right. I haven't smiled in a while. "I'm not here to attack you. I just want to talk." I decide to go for that, aiming to sound as less threating as possible.

"Right." Agent 33's voice is deeply sarcastic, and I frown slightly. Why is she talking to me like that? What gives her the right to talk to me like that?

"Kara." Ward speaks for the first time, placing his hand on her back. His voice brings back so many memories: _Wow, a compliment and a smile! Ward is HYDRA. One day you'll understand. No, I won't. Skye, my feelings for you are real. Never turn your back on your enemy. You taught me that, remember?_

33 glances up at Ward with a confused eye: since her other one, the scarred one, is hidden by her fringe.

"Let me talk to her." Ward continues, his voice quiet.

"Grant." Kara's voice is just as quiet as his. "You're not ready."

"Kara." He smiles at her, and my heart flutters. There used to be a time that he would smile at _me _like that. So is there something between 33 and Ward? Even though I really don't have the right to feel jealous anymore, I can't help but feel a little envy. Because even someone as messed up as Ward has someone who doesn't treat him like a monster. And I have no one. "I'll be fine, I promise."

I watch their exchange, hiding my thoughts in my eyes. I'm truly alone in this world, and I never thought that there would be a time that _Grant Ward _would be better off than me.

"Can we talk somewhere private?" I ask him, my eyes refusing to meet his.

"Sure." He says, much to my surprise. He's actually agreeing? He gestures to the coffee shop across the street, and that's when I realise why he's agreeing. It has large, clear windows, and is pretty full of civilians, so he's probably protecting himself. A part of me scoffs at him: _Ward protecting himself? I'm the one who needs protection from him, not the other way around._

"How about in there?" He suggests.

"Fine." I turn on my heel and I start to walk towards the coffee shop, knowing Ward will follow me. I don't worry about him shooting me in the back: he's better than that.

_He's better than me._

* * *

I choose a seat by the window. I stare out of the window, watching as it starts to drizzle outside. The weather is perfectly ironic to the situation right now: I'm here to ask Grant Ward for his help. After I shot him four times. I doubt that this could go well, but a girl can hope. A girl _has_ to hope. Or this girl might have a mental breakdown.

"What do you want?" He gets straight down to business. His blunt way of speaking makes me feel unsure: what do I really want here? He's not just going to say, _"Sure Skye, I'll help you." _

"To talk." I answer him, hating how my voice sounds. Like I'm some kind of timid animal, instead of the sardonic hacker I really am.

"What, Coulson's sent his little lap dog to me?" Ward's voice is cruel, and I flinch. His words are horrible, and they sting. I don't understand why he's aiming to hurt me so much. Surely this can't be just because I shot him? He has to understand that he was the enemy; that I had no choice but to shoot him.

A waitress walks over to our table.

"Hello, what can I get you two?" She asks brightly.

"Can I get a latte, please?" I smile politely. The waitress glances over at Ward, who shakes his head, declining to order. She flashes him a smile, and jealously raises his ugly head. Even though I have no right to feel this way, I feel like screaming at the waitress to back off from Ward. But I keep silent, and the waitress walks off to go and get my latte.

The rain outside pelts down harder.

"Coulson didn't send me." I say once the waitress has walked away. I need to send the record straight, and that means admitting that I'm alone. I take a deep breath. "I came alone, Ward. I wanted to make sure that-" I'm not too sure where I'm going with this.

"That what?" He interrupts, leaning back in his chair. My mouth hangs open for a few seconds. "That I got the message, to stay the hell away from you? 'Cause yeah, I got the message, Skye! The first and second bullets delivered that. The third bullet I can maybe understand, to keep me down, but the fourth was just over kill, Skye!" My voice steadily gets louder, and my breathing heavier. I blink in shock, and then I quickly move to hide my feelings from him even as my hope shrivels up and dies. He'll never help me. I was a fool to think that he might.

I don't really understand why I shot him four times. I just acted instinctively, shooting before I could fully think about it. But the one thing I will never understand is why I didn't shoot him in the head or heart. He survived his injuries. But clearly they've affected him deeply.

"Relax, Skye. I won't be coming after you anymore. I won't be trying to get you anymore." Ward continues, his tone still cruel. But I'm not too sure if it's unnecessarily anymore.

The waitress walks back over and places my latte down on the table. She smiles at Ward again -_ stay away from him! _\- and then walks away.

"You're free, Skye." Ward continues. "Because I'm not going to pursue you again. I'm over you."

My fingers wrap around my cup, my knuckles going white. The table shakes slightly, ripples spreading out across the surface of my drink. _Shit._ I try to force myself to calm down. I can't quake right now. I can't use my powers. _Calm the hell down! _

"I had to shoot you, Ward." I manage to get out. "I couldn't trust you."

"Seriously, Skye? That's what you're going with?" He sounds like he's mocking me. I frown as one of his hands go to his shoulder, and then he pulls down

One hand moves to my shoulder and I pull down my shirt and peel back the bandage Kara makes me wear to keep the wounds safe, showing the still raw wounds, which are still looking terrible because I ripped them back open. But she doesn't need to know that. Skye gasps slightly at seeing the tips of my bullet wounds. I push my shirt back up, fixing the bandage back in place.

"That's what you did to me, Skye." He says simply. "So why don't you run back to Coulson now. You can tell him I'm not doing anything to harm him or you. And I bet your leash is getting pretty short." His words are like several slaps to the face. My face flushes.

"Ward-" I begin. I can't let him leave me alone in uncertainty.

"You tell him to keep away from me. You keep away from me, and Kara." I tell her. "Because if I ever see your face again... Make sure you never turn your back on me. Because I doubt you'd want to be shot." I get to my feet, the chair squeaking against the lino floor as I push it backwards.

"You and Agent 33?" The question falls from my lips. Has he fell in love with another woman? Has 33 and him found some kind of messed up love with each other? I couldn't blame him if he had.

"We're very happy together." Ward smiles, before he walks away from me, leaving me completely alone in the world.

_What do I do now?_

* * *

I walk aimlessly in the rain.

My only option is gone. I have no idea what to do now. _So maybe I should just go back to SHIELD..._ Despair fills me.

"You do have one more option." A smooth voice says from behind me. I spin around, on the defensive. Two tall men stand there: but that's not the strangest thing.

One of them has no eyes.

I whip out my gun, my finger steady on the trigger. The men don't look too upset, or threatened by my weapon. _But I have one more ace up my sleeve. My earthquakes._

"Come with us." The other man says calmly. "We can help you, Skye."

"How the hell do you know my name?" I spit at him. The man raises an eyebrow as no-eyes stays silent next to him.

"My name is Lincoln, Skye, and we're like you. We're Inhuman too." He says.


End file.
